Northern Chinese genetically different to Southern

[djoser-xyyman]

The Chinese Human Genome Diversity Project
L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza
+ Author Affiliations


www.pnas.org/content/95/20/11501.full



The Chinese population comprises one-fifth of the human species. The Chinese government officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups, one of which is the Han majority (1 billion and 100 million people), and the other 55 are ethnic minorities (totaling about 100 million). The latter are spread over most of China, but especially in the south. Close to half of the minorities are found in one of the 28 provinces of China, Yunnan. The distinction is primarily linguistic but corresponds closely to other cultural differences. The paper by Chu et al. published in this issue of the Proceedings (1) explores the genetic stratification of about half of the official ethnic subdivisions by means of microsatellites, a class of genetic markers recently discovered that has proved very useful for several purposes. The paper represents the collective effort of several institutes participating in the Chinese Human Genome Diversity Project (CHGDP). The broader Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) was generated in 1991 by the international Human Genome Organization (HUGO) and is regionally organized (see www.stanford.edu/group/morrinst/HGDP/html). The CHGDP has started collecting cell lines from the official ethnic groups and testing their DNAs. The 56 official ethnic groups do not exhaust current Chinese diversity, as there are more than 100 languages spoken in China, but they include the most important ones.

Quote:

Stereotypes
Nevertheless, the concepts of North and South continue to play an important role in regional stereotypes.

Northerner:

Is taller and larger in stature
Has smaller eyes with single eyelids (i.e. an epicanthal fold)[1]
Has a relatively dolechocephalic skull and longer face
Has lighter, fairer skin color
Speaks Mandarin with a northern accent
Eats more noodles, dumplings and wheat-based foods rather than rice-based food[2]
Is more boisterous and open in personality, with more direct "thunderbolt" displays of emotions
Southerner:

Is shorter and smaller in stature
Has a relatively brachycephalic skull and shorter face
Has larger eyes with double eyelids[1]
Has darker, tanned skin color
Speaks Mandarin with a southern accent and/or a southern dialect such as Yue (Cantonese), Wu, Hakka, Xiang, Min or Gan
Eats more rice-based food rather than wheat-based food[2]
Is more industrious and entrepreneurial, with more reserved displays of emotions
Note that these are only rough and approximate stereotypes, and are greatly complicated both by further stereotypes by province (or even county) and by real life. Though many of these are considered to be stereotypes, there are some studies that illustrate variations of physiological differences.[3]

[anansi]

Interesting the Hakka from what read some yrs ago seems to be the ones who migrated a lot as laborers.

[djoser-xyyman]

ABSTRACT Despite the fact that the continuity of morphology
of fossil specimens of modern humans found in China
has repeatedly challenged the Out-of-Africa hypothesis, Chinese
populations are underrepresented in genetic studies.
Genetic profiles of 28 populations sampled in China supported
the distinction between southern and northern populations,
while the latter are biphyletic. Linguistic boundaries
are often transgressed across language families studied, ref
lecting substantial gene flow between populations. Nevertheless,
genetic evidence does not support an independent origin
of Homo sapiens in China. The phylogeny also suggested that
it is more likely that ancestors of the populations currently
residing in East Asia entered from Southeast Asia.

Attachments:

[djoser-xyyman]

From: www.chinahistoryforum.com/

Disclaimer: I have roots in many different areas of China but as an individual, raised 100% Canadian. In an attempt to get an idea of where I come from, I am bound to ask loaded questions and step on people's toes about issues with more weight than I'm aware of. Just know that it's not my intention to piss people off.

The issue I mention in this thread are the aesthetics of the Chinese people. Growing up around Caucasoid types, I never paid much attention to one Asian vs. the next - they all looked the same to me, and I looked just like them. But as a child, I'd accompany my parents when they went to Singapore (where they are from) to visit their families where I learned a majority of the Chinese population are from Southern China. So I thought cool, my roots lie in Southern China, awesome.

Then I grew up.

- I spent a school semester in Japan where as an international student, it was generally assumed that I was Korean despite a sizable Chinese population.
- Years later at a party, I met a guy from China and we got onto the topic of ethnic background to which when asked, I replied, somewhere in the south. He said "you have pale skin, high cheekbones, narrow nose and narrower eyes. Southern Chinese are short (which I am, at 5'7") dark with wide noses and round eyes. How does that work?"
- Some Euro-Canadian friends who claim to be able to tell the difference between oriental types have admitted they were willing to bet their life I was Korean or Japanese, but Chinese as the last they would guess.

And along with these random experiences, I've also heard some pretty harsh terms like "Southern Barbarian" and claims like "they are not true Han, look at their dark skin and frog faces." I hear the "true" Han are apparently tall, high cheekbones, pale, narrow eyes which I fit the bill for (except the tall part ) and yet my roots are in Southern China - Chao Zhou, Hai Nan and Ke Jia to be exact.

My question is, where does this bigotry stem from??

[zarahan]

Sounds like standard regional stereotyping and bugotry as found elsewhere- for example between northern and southern Italians. Southern China tends to have a range of warmer climates. DO you have any data on the subtropical areas of China and their contribution to Chinese civilization? If as the study notes above,m that the Chinese populations entered from SE Asia, they entered from a tropical zone. Isn't the area around certain centers of Chinese civilization subtropical?

[djoser-xyyman]

Man. There are so many threads I would like to work on. Too much data not enough time in the day. I will get around to it.

[zarahan]

^^ Interesting study.